While every effort
has been made to maintain complete, updated and accurate information, this site is not an
official source for information about the Vietnam War or the United States Marine Corps.

I hope the
material I supplied below will be helpful to all high school and college students learning
about the history of the Vietnam War.

Material found on this page
was supplied from the book titled"AMBASSADORS IN GREEN"Leatherneck Associations Inc.

"Charlie of
the South"

Generally, early combat operations were similar in design. Marine helicopters landed
grunts on the outskirts of villages and hamlets and the Marines established a perimeter.
Vietnamese interpreters instructed the villagers to form in a group and move to a
centralized location. Once the villagers (generally only women and children) had moved to
comparative safety, Marine fire teams rushed into the village to search for the enemy.
They were almost always met by VC snipers. The enemy was a pathetic looking lot . . .
small, slim, barefoot and poorly armed, but he was determined, and he could and very often
did, kill. Charlie of the South was elusive, cunning and tireless. He thought of himself
as a patriot and often opened fire, single handedly, on advancing Marine companies or even
battalions! He fought in small units, and often died . . . all alone, deserted by other
members of his cadre.

"Another
Landing"

History has a strange
way of repeating itself. In May 1845, American Marines went ashore from the USS
Constitution in an attempt to release a French Catholic missionary from prison.

"Old Ironsides" was anchored at Touron Bay, Cochin, China, during her
cruise around the world. Touron Bay is known today as "Da Nang."

Much has happened since that first landing in Vietnam by American Navy men and
Marines, over 125 years ago. Following the signing of the Geneva accords, Bedell
Smith, representing the American delegation, stated that the United States would not
threaten or use force to disturb the accords, and "would view any renewal of
aggression in violation of the Agreements with grave concern as seriously threatening
international peace and security."
Enemy troops continued infiltrating from the north. The monsoon rains came, bogging down
the mechanized army of the south, but guerrillas don't need wheels.

As the rains fell heavily, the guerrilla units began strong offensives in every
major sector of operations, including the southern deltas, central highlands and the
mountainous north.

It was then that the USS Maddox was attacked in international waters by North
Vietnamese PT boats, an attack referred to as the Gulf of Tonkin incident.

During a sneak night attack, the VC hit the air base at Pleiku in the central
highlands. The American barracks was rocketed; aircraft and helicopters were shredded.

Eight Americans were killed; 125 more wounded.
The enemy then struck at Qui Nhon in Central Vietnam. The Americans counted their
casualties.
The decision was
made."Land the Marines!"
March 8, 1965, began cloudy and windy. There was a pounding surf and a strong
offshore wind. Breakers reached 20 feet. The landing was delayed.

Then the small landing craft reached the beach. Ramps ground open and the Marines
stormed ashore. They were greeted by a mob of photographers, local officials and
Vietnamese school girls.

Secretary of State Dean Rusk was asked if Marines would shoot back if fired on.

"Obviously," he replied. "That's the history of the Corps."
The 3d Bn., Ninth Marines waded ashore 10 miles west of Da Nang. They were part of
the Ninth Marine Expeditionary Brigade, commanded by Brigadier General Frederick J. Karch.

Once ashore, the Ninth Marines linked up with the Ist Bn., Third Marines which
landed by C-130 Hercules transport aircraft later in the day.

A month prior to the arrival of the Marine ground troops, a battery of Marine HAWK
missiles was transferred to Vietnam for the defense of the Da Nang Air Base.

In support of the grunts, or
infantry Marines, came Marine Medium Helicopter Squadron-162 from Okinawa, which would
bolster its sister squadron, HMM-163. Marine Observation Squadron-2 landed the following
day. The Marines surrounded the air base, weapons at the ready. Some moved atop Hill 327
which dominates numerous approaches to the air base. To many, it was "just
another landing." Not a single shot was fired; not a casualty was suffered. The lack
of pain and bloodshed would not be absent for long; sea breezes along the South China Sea
would soon carry the smell of gunpowder, echoes of shells firing and blood would spill on
both sides. But for now, at least, it was just another landing. It was "move
out...spread out, hurry up and wait." It was hot. Throats were dry, backs wet with
sweat and feet soaked from flooded rice paddies. Units moved to establish a perimeter
defense around the Da Nang Air Base and helicopter landing zones. They were on Hill 327
and Monkey Mountain. The Marines had landed!

"A Plot
To Defend"

They were like
homesteaders. They came ashore, were assigned plots, and they dug in.

The 3rd Bn., Ninth Marine, Regiment, Third Marine Division ' landed in early March. By the
end of July, the division was committed in its entirety in Vietnam.

Their mission: "To secure advanced air or naval bases . . . to deny the use of
seized positions and areas to, the enemy . . . to close with and destroy the enemy . .
."
How best to fulfill this mission? The answer was simple . . .
"enclaves!" According to the dictionary, an "enclave" is a
"country, wholly surrounded by a foreign country."

As it pertained to the Marines, it was a plot of land surrounding vital airstrips.
Without air power, South Vietnamese troops would be in a bind for a swift striking
capability.

Without Marine security on the airstrips, aircraft and helicopters were vulnerable
to enemy mortar and small arms fire. With the airstrip locked in a firm, friendly grasp,
allied troops in the field were guaranteed resupply, reinforcements and quick medical
evacuation.
Several battalions of Marines were, stretched out in a wide perimeter with their
backs to the Da Nang River and the South China Sea. Patrols ranged deep into the mountains
to keep the Viet Cong on the move, always away from the Da Nang Air Base.

The second enclave was
established at Chu Lai, 60 miles south of Da Nang. Sea bees performed the near impossible,
constructing a 4000-foot aluminum section runway in 23 days.

Doesn't seem too impressive?You haven't seen Chu Lai! Whereas Da Nang boasts
firm, green flat lands and gently rolling hills (for the most part, at least Chu Lai is a
settled sandstorm. Patrolling Marines were ankle deep in the golden sands, which tugged at
boots and pulled at leg muscles until they cramped or were released for the next step. And
there was cactus . . . The third enclave was Qui Nhon, 90 miles down the coast from
Chu Lai, and III MAF's southernmost stronghold. A battalion landed there on July 1, 1965,
from the carrier Iwo Jima after allied intelligence reported an imminent VC mortar attack
against the airstrip. In addition to the security of the tiny, but very vital air
base, Marines had a secondary mission of keeping the two major highways open; Route 1 runs
I north and south, and Route 19 runs from the coast, inland to Central Vietnam.The final and most northern
enclave established was Hue/Phu Bai, 50 miles south of the 17th Parallel. Marine infantry
and artillery dug in, protecting the 6000-foot runway, finding some relief in the flat,
dusty rice paddy fields and mounds. A battery of 155mm howitzers provided artillery
support for the 55-square-mile zone. Marines of III MAF lived in the hottest, coldest,
wettest and driest sections of Vietnam. They wore out boots on the plains, in the
mountains, steaming jungles and on the deserts. A Marine from Chu Lai visiting Da Nang
would find himself in a seeming oasis of greenery, with ocean breezes fresh and constant.

From Hue-Phu Bai, another Marine might claw down a sharp jungle path and catch a
flight to the flat, open, broiling expanse of Chu Lai.

Regardless of the surrounding terrain, the enclave Marines were, temporarily, like
homesteaders.

Theirs was a necessary, vital assignment; theirs was a plot to defend.

Enabling Marine pilots and their aircraft to soar freely through the sky over Vietnam was
not an exciting or glamorous job. Mechanics, armoires, metalsmiths and crew chiefs labored
around the clock to maintain the aircraft. Flight line temperatures ranged in
the 130's and touching metal meant blisters... but bombs and repairs went on.

" Things
That Kill"

Your back is sticky with sweat and the jacketclings and chills. An
odor flows upward, out of the open neck of your utility shirt, and you discover with a
grimace that the smell is you.
The sun pounds down. Sweat burns the eyes, flows along the edge of the nose, gathers, then
pushes on down to the corner of the mouth. A tongue flicks out.

Salty. Yech!

Hot, tired, smelly
and uncomfortable, you hear a voice. "Cold
soda, Marine?" You smile a "yes!"

She flips
off the soda top and pours the fluid into a paper cup full of chipped ice. You gulp down a
large mouthful of the cold, sweet fluid. Small chips of ice slide down your throat along
with the soda. Then you realize, too late, that slivers of glass are cutting your stomach
. . . from the inside, out. The games people play in Vietnam are deadly.

A convoy of trucks moves slowly down the highway to Hue. A group of small boys
offer loaves of French bread to Marines riding on the backs of the vehicles.

One of the trucks, loaded with supplies, suddenly heaves into the air; Marines
thrown into lifeless shapes, landing in heaps on the side of the road.

One loaf
of bread contained a hand grenade.

Cpl Burley
Boykin was point man on a patrol with Co., 3d Recon Bn., when he tripped a homemade Viet
Cong booby trap. The jazzed up I, beer can was filled with bits and pieces of discarded
metal and Boykin caught 80 of them throughout his body.

Boykin was
lucky. Though a painful encounter, he would live and walk the point again. But he walked
ever so cautiously!

The Viet
Cong's ability to make weapons from discarded objects is uncanny. Their tools are crude.
Few enemy guerrillas have any technical knowledge explosives. They're lackadaisical in
their approach to providing pain.

They don't care if they kill or maim, as long as they put a combatant out of
action, while using as much pain as possible in the process.

Ever hear about the Marine and the bear trap? The enemy rigged the device so it
took a special key to release the victim. A Marine stepped in and jaws clamped shut. No
key was available for his release. When others attempted to evacuate the casualty
helicopter, it was learned that the device was chained to a concrete slab embedded in
three fee of earth.

To evacuate the Marine meant digging up the anchor, carrying the concrete, chain,
bear trap and the casualty to the landing zone. When the choppe set down at Da
Nang, a doctor, corpsmen and Marines with hacksaws and cuffing torches were also standing
by to release the jaws of the trap from the Marine's leg.

Punji stakes,
sharp needles of bamboo, are concealed along paths and roads. Advancing Marines come under
enemy fire and dive for concealment . . . to be pierced by deadly points which have been
dipped in animal excreta to infect those not receiving fatal punctures.

Some are
primitive, such as huge, heavy balls of mud which contain pointed spears. They're hung
high and fall heavily on unsuspecting troops below.

Some are
ridiculous. You'd laugh, until the thing exploded, knocking the grin off your face. Then
you'd realize, they're things that kill!.

Enemy booby
traps came in a varity of shapes and sizes. Some crude; others, highly sophisticated.
Marine explosive experts, engineers, recon SCUBA teams and scout dogs continually
searched for the gadgets of death. Some Marines chose to ignore the dangers of hidden
explosives. It often proved a costly mistake. Some lived...many did not.

"Chasing'
Charlie"

Charlie was elusive and cunning. Marine grunts and aviators teamed up in
heli-assaults on suspected Viet Cong strongholds. At times, it appeared that the sky was
full of droning choppers crammed with combat-ready Marines. At other times, Marine grunts
rode to combat on armored vehicles, such as amphibious tractors, tanks and Ontos, which
ferried units into battle.

But it
wasn't the helicopter or the steel monster which found, faced and fought the enemy. It was
the grunt. It was the young Marine, the recent enlistee who was trained, supplied, armed
and transferred to Vietnam, who made the final contact with Charlie. It was the grunt who
made Charlie run.

"The Sky Is
Ours"

On the ground
in Vietnam, the enemy may be anywhere, but in the air, it's a different kind of war.

The air
belongs to allied jet jockeys, transport humpers and chopper poppas. Marine aircraft,
regardless of size, shape or speed, drone unopposed through the skies of South Vietnam.

Marine
close air support is like a poker hand with three jets as openers. Skyhawks, Phantoms and
Intruders provide surprise, punch, speed and countless enemy casualties.

The
Intruder, an all-weather attack bomber, can carry 28 500-pound bombs, flying through any
natural weather disturbance which grounds other aircraft.

Skyhawks,
stubby-winged jets, have recorded 120 sorties a day, dropping more than 10,000 tons of
ordnance, up to 1000 pounders.

But it
isn't all jets in the 'Nam. Jumbo, cargo planes, as the C-130 Hercules, burdened with men,
mail, chow and whatever else there's room for, waddle out to the flight line, grunt and
groan, then lumber into the air like gooney birds.

Helicopters
come in a variety of shapes and sizes. First, there was the thinly clad, mosquito-like Sea
Horse. It was small and could carry a limited load, but it was a workhorse, and
dependable.

They
ferried wounded from battle. They carried beans, bullets and broads. The latter, visiting
USO troops. They flew plasma, VIPs, rockets or water.

The Sea
Knight was huge in comparison, and could carry a lot more weight. It also mounted .50
caliber machine, guns instead of the .30's the Sea Horses toted.

Then came
the Sea Stallion, an assault transport cargo helicopter, largest in the Free World's
arsenal. Built especially for Marines, it carried 38 combatladen troops. Dubbed
"Super Bird," it can trail a 20,000-pound external load. Top speed: 170 knots.

A Huey is a
polliwog-like machine with a bump for a nose and a sawed off cigar for an exhaust, but no
one laughs as it "whomp whomps" across the sky. It carries a rocket pod on each
side, mounting eighteen 2.75-inch rockets. Two mounted machine guns are situated atop the
rocket pods.

From the
Huey evolved the Cobra, smaller, thinner, but with one hell of a sting! It boasts a rapid
firing mini-gun pod that spits either 3000 7.62 rounds, or, with a flick of a switch,
belches out a total of 279 40mm grenades.

Alongside
the Cobra's center are rocket pods that carry 56 high explosive rockets.

Another
innovation, introduced in Vietnam, is the OV-10A "Bronco," similar in design to
the Lockheed Lightning or Black Widow of World War II.

The plane
is armed with four internal 7.62 machine guns, two on each side. It can carry a total load
of 3600 pounds of bombs, or marking rockets, Sidewinder missiles or the fast-firing
mini-guns.

During the
monsoon season, with torrential rains blanketing the airstrips, the enemy figured they'd
have it knocked. No aircraft, they reasoned, could take off under such conditions.

They attacked. So did
the Marine pilots.

Results? Heavy enemy
casualties.

The
enemy may roam the paddy or jungle, but sometimes he forgets, the sky is ours!

The role played by
Marine aviators and the importance of Marine aircraft in Vietnam may never be properly
told. In addition to aerial observation and reconnaissance, close air support, saturation
bombing, strafing runs, medical evacuations and delivering the mail, aircraft provided a
great morale boost to ground units while seriously demoralizing the enemy.

Many hard
core Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers surrendered to allied forces because of the
continued pounding, strafing or hazing by Marine pilots and their aircraft. Without Marine
pilots and their "birds," the story of Hill 881 or the results of the stand at
Khe Sanh might have had a much different ending.

"The Gentle
Side"

A Marine rode,
shotgun on a resupply convoy. Clutched in one hand, a loaded M-16; in the other, a bag
filled with candy. As the convoy bounced its way along the pockmarked highway, curious
children were met with handfuls of wrapped sweets.

That's the gentle
side!

The Third
Marine Division's Memorial Children's Hospital at Quang Tri or the, Hoa Khanh Children's
Hospital at FLC are more like Stateside hospitals than most in Vietnam. Marines, Navy men
and Seabees built them and have continued supporting them with money, materials and a
sympathetic love.

Never before
had Marines been asked to rebuild a country as they secured it, During the Pacific island
campaigns of World War 11, Marines fixed bayonets, charged, scored a victory and moved on
to another island, leaving the mopping up to, other allied units.

In Vietnam,
during an 18-month period, nearly two million South Vietnamese received free medical and
dental care offered through a variety of medical civic action programs, or MedCaps.

Marines writing
home about the many orphans were rewarded with boxes of clothing, soap and food. Not
only were cartons received during December,but folks back home provided a
year 'round Christmas.

A brick
factory operated by the 7th Marine Engineers obtained raw material from CARE and employed
refugee labor to make bricks which were then supplied, without cost, to hamlets in the
area for schools.

The work of
Marines in their fight toward Vietnarnization wasn't fully shouldered by those in Vietnam
alone. In the States, Marine reservists, commercial companies and individual families
contributed huge amounts of items needed by the Vietnamese.

One
pharmaceutical company in California's Bay Area contributed more than a million dollars
worth of medical supplies!

The
Vietnamese didn't get supplies by merely asking for them. It wasn't a large "hand
out" program. They got materials because they needed them, as determined by a Marine
representative and the village chiefs.

Among projects
designed specifically to, increase the level of education was the General Walt Scholarship
Program, established in 1967 to assist needy students showing potential as future leaders.

The program
grew from 465 elementary and high school scholarships to over a thousand! Financial
support was provided by the Marine Corps Reserve Civic Action Fund.

Today's Marine
stands ready as "first to fight . . but there's another side of him. Hundreds of
former Viet vets are contributing monthly to clothe, feed and educate countless orphans.
The kids might be Catholic, Protestant or Buddhist most is the fact they're kids.

Faces of
combat Marines are hard, crusted with sweat and lined with concern. Removed from the
fields of battle and placed in a surrounding of kids, the Marine's face softens, and the
crust of grime cracks to reveal a grin.

The Marine
will replace his rifle with the small hand of a child, and though neither understands a
word of the other, they share a common warmth.

This, then, is the
gentle side . . .

"Nguyen Of The
North..."

Just
before Thanksgiving Day, 1965, 3/7 met an enemy force near Quang Ngai. Three of the enemy
were killed. Eight weapons were captured.

It marked a
turning point in the war. The enemy proved to be members of the 95th Regiment, 325th Alpha
Division, North Vietnamese Army.

Nguyen of the North
was migrating south.

At that time,
it was estimated that seven NVA regiments had crossed into South Vietnam; an eighth was
considered "probable" and a ninth, "possible."

By early 1968,
four NVA divisions and elements of two other divisions were fighting in the south. '

How does
Nguyen of the North differ from his fighting ally, Charlie of the South?

Nguyen is a
"bo doi" or basic infantryman. He'll wear a simple, lightweight uniform which
may be many colors, including gray, gray-green, khaki or even robin egg blue. He wears a
light, camouflage covered pith helmet.

He
carries plastic canteens on a thin webbed belt, and if he carries a knife, it'll be crude;
homemade. He'll have an entrenching tool, and wear the canvas, rubber soled shoes, or
"Ho Chi Minh" rubber sandals.

He's
comfortably dressed and well armed, carrying a modern, effective ChiCom copy of a Russian
weapon, either an SKS carbine, AK-47 assault rifle, light machine gun or rocket launcher.
The SKS, AK and machine gun use the standard 7.62 cartridge.

Operating
in the field, he's formed into squads, platoons, companies, battalions, regiments and
divisions. He utilizes the "triangular" concept with three squads per platoon,
three platoons per company and so forth. (A squad is 10 men divided into three cells.)

A rifle
company has from 60 to 130 men and includes three rifle platoons and a weapons platoon
which has 60mm mortars, 57mm recoilless rifles and light machine guns.

A regiment
(1400 to 2000 men) may have special units attached, as signal, engineer, recon or medical,
and may carry heavy machine guns, 120mm mortars and 70mm or 75mm pack howitzers.

Communications units carry field telephones, small hand radio sets or sophisticated
switchboards and transmitters.

Engaged, they
frequently use the "close embrace" tactic, meaning they get as near as possible
to the enemy (as they did to Marines at Khe Sanh) to prevent the use of supporting fire.

The NVA is not a
rinky-dink outfit. Nguyen has proved himself a well-trained, professional
combatant.

During "Operation
Hastings" in July 1966, Task Force Delta with 2/1, 2/4 and 3/4, the
Special Landing Force (3/5), 1/1 and 1/3 clashed with NVA of the 324B
Division. In all, 8000 Marines and 3000 South Vietnamese troops met Nguyen
and his comrades. Then began "Operation Prairie" and
"Deckhouse IV."

Nguyen of the North was
fighting with his back against his homeland. He was well equipped; well
trained; well supplied. But he was not invincible. Before the end of
January 1967, nearly 1400 NVA had been killed during operations around the
DMZ.

The NVA had moved
concentrations of troops into the South through the DMZ because it was an
easier route than along the Ho Chi Minh jungle trail. Also, moving through
the Demilitarized Zone shortened Nguyen's supply lines.

He was stopped by American
Marines . . . but it wasn't a permanent halt.

He'd be back . . . at Mutter's
Ridge, Khe Sanh, Hill 881 and Meade River. Marines would hear more of
Nguyen of the North.